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Python

Posted by Michael Cook
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Michael Cook
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 28,975 Points

Anyone else feel like OO Python is quite hard?

I am nearing the end of the Object Oriented Python course and I have really struggled. I realize now that I went in a bit over-confident because I have a pretty decent grasp of JavaScript OOP. But I have found myself just simply not getting things and having to re-watch the videos a lot. Has anyone else experienced this? I am beginning to feel a little discouraged. I was hoping to get through the Python tracks quickly so I could start focusing more on learning a framework like Django but its taking a lot longer than I thought.

2 Answers

kyle kitlinski
kyle kitlinski
5,619 Points
kyle kitlinski
kyle kitlinski
5,619 Points

Is there anything specific tripping you up with python / differences between python and JS? Don't feel discouraged I honestly feel sometimes learning a second language can be just as difficult as the first one since you have to break habbits and have a certain idea of how things should work ingrained in your mind.

I'm sure others may disagree with this but in my opinion as long as you're mostly comfortable with python syntax and general programming logic go ahead and give django a shot. Then if you find a specific thing tripping you up go back to the object oriented class and drill that part.

Michael Cook
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Michael Cook
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 28,975 Points

Thanks for your answer Kyle. A lot of things in the OO Python course are tripping me up and confusing me. Almost everything after the first section of videos. I actually think it is partly due to the teaching style Kenneth uses. I like him but I don't think he is the most effective teacher. Others may disagree and that's fine, its subjective.

I am hoping to eventually be job-ready so though I agree that I could probably just move onto a framework even if I don't have OOP down pat, I still think for the sake of being able to demonstrate a good grasp on Python to a potential employer I should really try to get into the habit of using professional techniques, and that means OOP.

kyle kitlinski
kyle kitlinski
5,619 Points
kyle kitlinski
kyle kitlinski
5,619 Points

If you'd like to try another resource this is super highly recommended and likely cover a lot of concepts required for programming interviews. Lecture #8 is specifically object oriented programming.

https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-0001-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-in-python-fall-2016/syllabus/

Michael Cook
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Michael Cook
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 28,975 Points

Thanks Kyle, I will definitely check it out!

Gali B
Gali B
2,082 Points
Gali B
Gali B
2,082 Points

I'm feeling you man. I'd like to see many more examples of problems and why and how OOP can benefit me to solve those problems. I try to take in lots of new stuff here, and I can't think of a situation when it will be useful (Kenneth even laugh about it during the videos about Reversed STR)

When I don't see the reason to use new, super() or others, I just won't be able to really understand when and how to use it.

Michael Cook
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Michael Cook
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 28,975 Points

I ultimately stopped taking the Python courses on Treehouse. I was constantly confused and frustrated. Just because you're brilliant doesn't mean you'll be a good teacher and I think that's the case for Kenneth. I switched to PHP instead and now I'm building MVC apps with modern OOP techniques and I understand it a lot better.

Michael Cook
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
Michael Cook
Full Stack JavaScript Techdegree Graduate 28,975 Points

However, even with the PHP courses it can be hard some times to see how a certain concept would actually be useful in real life. It started to make sense in my mind once I started trying to build a few apps myself and implement the concepts where I thought they might make sense to use. Slowly but surely these things started to make a bit more sense.